Cone clutch



E. O. SCHJOLIN l oct. 26, 1937.

GONE CLUTCH Filed Deo, 2L 1955 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l ahw E. O. SCHJOLIN GONE CLUTCH Oct. 26, 1937. l

Filed Dec, 721 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MMMJ@ @www Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT ol-Fica Application December 21, 1935, Serial No. 55,626

Claims.

This invention relates to clutches for use on automotive vehicles. The clutch is particularly adapted`to vehicles having the engine mounted at the rear and in which the transmission is po- 5 sitioned transversely of the vehicle or parallel withthe rear axle.

The clutch is of the cone type and the improvement consists in refinements in the construction of the clutch wherebythe driving and driven members maybe easily made and at less expense than clutches known in the art. j

The objects of the invention are accomplished by forming the driving member of'two sheets of thin metal which are welded together and after they are welded they are shaped to form the clutch member. A steel hub is secured at the middle and is splined to the shaft driven by the engine. two thin plates welded together and suitably shaped, but instead of being formed into conical shape at its periphery the driven member is provided with a steel ring forming on its inside the driven clutching face and having on its outer side teeth which are adapted to be engaged by 5 the starting motor of the vehicle. I'he driven member has a third plate or disc secured thereto which is suitably shaped so that with the back of the web of the driven member the third plate will form a groove for the belt which drives the water'pump. A steel hub forms the center of the driven member. Preferably the driven member is provided with a series of pressed out buttons which are machined, the purpose of which is accurately to position the steel ring.

On the drawings Figure lis a view in section through the clutch of the invention and its interrelated transmission.

Figure 2 is a view of the clutch sluiting fork and related construction taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of the driven member of the cone clutch with parts broken away and shown in section better to illustrate the inven` 4,5 tion. Y

Referring to the drawings. the numeral 2 indicates an internal combustion engine of any suitable-type. The engine has the usual cylinders l and crankcase B in which the crankshaft 8 is 5o journaled.' The crankshaft has the flywheel I0, and formed integral therewith is the gear l2 which is used to drive any suitable part; in the present instance it is used to drive a blower. The y flywheel is provided with a slot Il in which there is slidably receivedthe tongue I6 on the end of The driven member is also formed of;

(ci. 19a-66) the shiftable shaft I8 which passes through` the transmission 20 and has secured at its outer end the driving member 22 oi the cone clutch of the invention indicated Vas a whole at 24. The driving member 22 is provided withthesteel hub 26 5 splined to the shaft as indicated at 28 andv held thereon by nut `3i) threaded on the end of the shaft. The driving member 22, in addition to the steel hub 28, is comprised of the web 82, the inclined clutch engaging face' 8l and the rein- 10 'forcing iiange 86. Rivets 81 secure the hub 28 and web 82 together. Additionally,an'oil slinger 28 is secured to the. interior of the -web 82, the web being provided withthe openings l0 to allow anescape of grease or oil which may be 15 caught by the slinger 88 as it drops from the end bearing 82 of the shaft I8.

Theclutch member 22 is made by placing together two flat thin sheets of metal. about 3/64" thick, and then spot welding them together at 20 a suitable and desired number of points. Aiter it is'spot welded the clutch member 22 is formed by a series'of stamping or pressing operations into the shape shown in Figure 1. In its i'lnal form`- the two parts which make up the clutch 25 member'22 closely interiit and are complemental throughout their extent. The driven member of the 'clutch is designatedv as a whole at 44 and comprises the web I8 composed of two thin flat sheets of metal, about 30 3/64" thick, the outer steel ring 48 andthe steel hub 58. The ring I8 has the peripheral teeth 5l to enable a -starting motor (not shown) to rotate the clutch to start the engine 2.v The web 48 is formed similarly to the driving member 22 35 in that -two flat sheets of metal are first placed together and suitably spot welded. 'Ihey are then shaped to the shape shown in Figure 1. In order to form a pulley to drive the belt52 for the water pump, an additional lplate 5I is 40 formed to the shape shown in Figure 1 and is suitably spot welded to the finished web 48 so as to form a V or groove 58 to receive the belt `52.

At the outer periphery or edge of the web 48 a series of buttons or indentations 58 is formed. a 45 These are formed merely by pressing inward or shearing a small part of the metal so that the shorn or pressed-in part will project inwardly beyond the outer flange 68 of the web. The edges of these pressed-in portions or buttons 58 60 are machined to form a smooth surface in order lto enable the accurate positioning of the flange 82 of the ring 48. The flanges 80 and 62 are secured together by the rivets 84, preferably vsix rivets being used.

55 to start the engine 2 the driving member 22 of the The usual brake lining is shown at 05.

- The steel h ub 50 and the inner edges of the web V46 and the plate 54 are secured together by the means of the rivets 00.

Inasmuch as the driving and driven members of the core clutch 24 are reversed from their usual position, it is believed advisable to show a portion of the transmission in connection therewith and the manner in which the clutch is operated.

'I'he transmission `case is indicated at 60 and is provided with the end bearings and 12 in which there is turnably mounted the shaft 14, the shaft 14 in turn'forming the bearings for the driving shaft I8 of the motor. Integrally formed with the shaft 14 is the low or first speed gear 16 and the reverse gear 10r The shaft has the splined portion 80 on `which there is slidablymounted the gear 82 adapted to mesh with the internal teeth 84 of gear 86 having a hub 8B adapted to turn in the bearings 12 and 90. By shifting the gear 02 into engagement with the internal teeth 84 the direct drive of the vehicle is accomplished-by driving the gear 92 on the shaft 04 parallel to the shaft 14.v The shaft 94 has the gear 96 on its end which meshes with an idler 98 which is connected to the usual ring gear of the differential (not shown). To drive in first speed the gear |00 is shifted to the right to mesh with the gear 16 and for reverse the gear |00 is shifted to' the left to mesh with the idler (not shown) which in turn is driven from the gear 18. Second speed isaccomplished by shifting the gear 82 to the right to mesh with gear |02.

'I'he driving member 22 of the clutch 24 is also the shiftable member and in this instance the clutch member 22 is shifted by sliding longitudinally the driving shaft I8. 'I'his is accomplished by the fork |04 which operates on the plate |05 of a bearing membery |01 to' slide the shaft I8 to the right (Figure 1) against the tension of the three Belleville washers |06.' The ring |09 of the bearing |01 is rigid with the shaft I0. When the clutch fork |04 is released, the Belleville washers `|06 will pull the shaft I0 and the clutch member 22 to the left to cause the inclined surfaces of thecone clutch to engage to cause the driven member 44 to` drive the shaft 14 of the transmission.

One advantage resulting from the construction is that there is considerable resiliency in both the driving and the driven members. 'I'his resiliency isy the result of makingthe clutch members of two thin sheets. y

Owing to the structural interrelation of the parts as described, it is to be noted that in order clutch member must be in engagement with the driven member 44. When they are disengaged the starting motor will spin or rotate the driven member 44 and the transmission 20 but without turning over theengine. This independent rotaytion of the driven member andthe transmission is of considerable service in the starting of the motor for the reason that the starting motor will readily spin or rotate these parts when the clutch members are disengaged. After they have been brought to their maximum speed of rotation' with the clutch disengaged, the operator will suddenly release the clutch pedal to cause the driving member 22 to engage with the driven member 44 and the inertia of the movement of part 44 and the transmission 20 will communicate its movement to the shaft "I8 and crankshaft 8 to cause the motor to start turning over. It is much easier to start the engine in` this way than by leaving the clutch members in engagement. When the clutch members are left in engagement there is lost the inertia of movement of the driven clutch member 44 of the transmission. During cold weather when the oil is thick and the parts are more difficult to rotate because of the increased density of the oil, the starting motor Will readily turn the driven member 44 and the transmission whenfthe clutch is disengaged, whereas were theclutch engaged, the motor must rotate all the parts which it cando with difficulty only because additional frictional resistance is added due to the fact that the starting` motor must now turn over the engine as well, in order to get it started.

I claim:

1. In a cone clutch, a driving member comprising two thin intertting'pieces of metal welded together, each piece comprising a` central disc part and a peripheral cone part, said pieces being complemental to each other throughout their extent. u

I2. In a.y cone Iclutch, a driving memberl comprising' two thin interfltting pieces of metal secured together, each of said pieces comprising a metal web portion, an inclined surface forming the engaging clutch' surface, and astrengthening flange on the edge of the inclined portion, said pieces interfitting and being complemental to each other throughout their extent. l

3. In a cone clutch, a driving member comprising two thin interfitting pieces of metal securedl together, each of said pieces comprising a metal web portion, an inclined surface forming the en gaging clutch surface, a strengthening flange on the edge of the inclined` portion, said pieces interiltting and being complemental to each other throughout their extent, and a hub secured tothe web portion. 44. In a cone clutch, a driven member comprising a web portion comprising two thin pieces of metal secured'together, a steel ring secured to the -metal secured together, a steel ring secured to thc web portion and forming one member of the cone clutch, a hub secured to the web, and teeth on the ring to enablethe application of starting mechanism to the clutch.

ERIC OLLE SCHJOLIN. 

